Faculty

John Wey Ling, founder

Mr. Ling began his training at the Shanghai Ballet School, and in 1977, he ranked as a Principal Dancer for the famed Shanghai Ballet. In 1980, he and his partner Ms. Wang Qifeng went to international ballet competition in Japan. He and his partner made history by winning the first gold medal in an international competition for China. Upon defecting to the United States in 1982, he joined the American Ballet Theatre as a soloist under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov. Mr. Ling has appeared as a guest artist with the National Ballet of Canada, the Hong Kong Ballet, the Hong Kong Dance Company, the Fort Worth City Ballet, the Dallas Ballet, and the National Ballet of Mexico. He has danced the leading roles in all the major classical ballets. In addition, Mr. Ling has not only choreographed and staged the classics but has also given master classes around the world.

Alexandra Ling

Born in Los Angeles, California, Alexandra Ling began dancing at the age of four. While training under Elite Ballet Theatre’s Founder and Artistic Director, John Wey Ling, she has won accolades from numerous competitions, including the Youth America Grand Prix, USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, World Ballet Competition, Showstopper and American Dance Awards. At the age of thirteen, she debuted the role of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. Her repertoire includes Sugarplum Fairy and Snow Queen in the Nutcracker, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Snow White in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Principal in Balanchine’s Elegié, Balanchine’s Serenade, Paquita, Ballet Symphony, as well as leading roles in many other full-length classical ballets. Alexandra served as the Artistic Director of Columbia Ballet Collaborative for the 2023/2024 season, where she spearheaded the re-launch of Ivy Ballet Exchange with Harvard Ballet Company and Princeton University Ballet.